• Wetzel’s Pretzels is launching a new store concept selling an innovative take on the classic pretzel.
• Twisted sells ice cream-filled pretzel cones and sweet and savory pretzel versions of French fries.
• Targeting Gen Z and millennial customers, the launch will move the chain out of malls.

California pretzel chain Wetzel’s Pretzels is launching a new store concept specifically targeting Generation Z and millennials.

A new store called Twisted sells an innovative take on the classic pretzel. Sweet and savory options range from pretzel chimney cakes (ice cream in a cone made from sugar-coated pretzel dough) to pretzel versions of fries topped with bacon and s’mores It has been.

Other menu items include $7.99 cheese-stuffed pretzel twists and hot dogs served on pretzel buns with spicy toppings.

Wetzel’s Pretzels currently has approximately 370 stores. 40% are located in CaliforniaMost of its stores are in malls, but they can be found in store-in-store formats like Walmart and Macy’s, or in locations like Disney World, Universal CityWalk, and LAX Airport.

But people don’t often shop at malls anymore. Hundreds of malls across the United States have closed due to changing shopping habits, including online retail.

Thanks to Twisted, Wetzel’s Pretzels are trying to avoid malls. Kim Freer, his CMO of Wetzel’s Pretzels, told Insider that the company would instead target college towns and power centers, outdoor shopping centers with multiple large tenants.

“Twisted was created for Zillennial guests,” says Freer. She said each store is about 1,200 square feet in size and features bright colors and eye-catching décor. There is also an open kitchen where you can watch the pretzels being baked and decorated.

The first Twisted store will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., but Freer said he expects it to be busiest in the late afternoon and early evening.

Pretzels are generally considered a snack, but Freer says Twisted’s menu has some large meal replacement portions. “Pretzels can be so much more than that,” she said.

However, Freer noted that sales of Wetzel’s pretzels were about 35% higher in 2022 than in 2019 because people were eating more snacks and “grazing all day” during the pandemic.

Freer said Wetzel’s Pretzels plans to open about 40 new stores between now and the end of 2023, at least three of which will be Twisted stores. The first store he opened in Orange County in May, with two more in California and Arizona later this year.